What is it about 'Log Cabin'?

Having pulled out a few projects that where simply exercises in technique, I came across a folder filled with my hand rotary cut strips for an unfinished block of log cabin patchwork. Eager to finish this project I have placed it on my work table, ready for the next available opportunity to do some sewing.

'Log Cabin' patchwork is such a simple design with so many options for layout. I love it not only for it's simplicity and diversity in layout options, but also because the design is based on the actual log cabin housing typical of America (and Canada). The central square in Log Cabin patchwork which is mainly depicted in red fabric, symbolizes the hearth of the log cabin - the fireplace and 'heart' of the home. The strips placed around the central red square symbolize the logs with which the cabin is built.  My favourite Log Cabin layout is the 'Barn Raising' quilt layout. To me, there is something so comforting about this design. It seems well grounded, solid and stable in appearance. And although it is quite linear, it has a softness about it, in that it is a design which I would describe as being 'in the round'. For me, the design being 'in the round' is rather fetal - creating a feeling of protection, comfort and warmth. Of course, the name 'Barn Raising' in itself, conjures up the most fascinating and beautiful image of the Amish Community, gathering together for an actual 'Barn Raising' - the blue sky, the traditional Amish clothing, the woman and children busy loading tables with delicious home made food and the men-folk all climbing up or sitting on beams, beavering away at the skeletal structure of a barn in the making.

The Log Cabin patchwork block and the Barn Raising layout therefore, in my opinion, physically and visually, fully depicts all that I love about quilt making - the thrill of design and colour, the joy and satisfaction that comes from learning a skill or craft as well as the actual process involved; the rhythm of creating the stitches, the methodology involved in creating a quilt from start to finish, the tangibility of the craft - the fact that I can hold the fabric and feel the tools with which I am working gives me a sense of grounded earthiness, the fact that quilts are functional but also decorative, that they are items for comfort and warmth in the home but are also very flexible in their endless uses and especially lovely as a picnic throw.  Quilts were and still are very much part of the everyday life of people who love them. They have stories attached to them, not only of how and when they were made, but also the stories of those who made them and for whom they were made.

Quilts are therefore, a wonderful and important tool for understanding our social history. And if you are lucky enough to own a quilt, you will truly understand, that it is an absolute delight!

Catherine...x